Mission Statement and Program Description

Mission Statement

To assist the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and other public education agencies (PEAs) with data-driven decision-making, benefiting students with disabilities in Arizona.

Program Description

The ESS Data Management team is comprised of personnel who are responsible for the collection, review, validation, verification and analysis of special education data in Arizona as required under Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Special education data is an essential component of various Indicators outlined in the State Performance Plan (SPP) / Annual Performance Report (APR) submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), within the U.S. Department of Education. This data is collected annually via the Student Accountability Information System (SAIS), as well as through other ESS web-based applications (i.e., Annual Special Education Data Collection, Post School Outcomes Survey) and ADE web-based applications (i.e., Az SAFE). The Data Management team is focused on two major federal reporting requirements: the Annual Federal Child Count (census) and the Annual Special Education Data Collection. The Data Management team also responds to a variety of internal and external data requests. Additional federal reporting requirements fall under the purview of other areas within ESS (i.e., Post School Outcomes is overseen by the ESS Secondary Transition team).

Complementing the ESS Data Management team, a staff member within the ADE Research and Evaluation division is responsible for the analysis and reporting of testing results for students with disabilities (AIMS and SAT). This research analyst also participates in the preparation of the SPP/APR, assists with disproportionality analysis, conducts research related to students with disabilities, and also responds to a variety of internal and external data requests.

An integral part of the ESS Data Management team is a data management analyst from ADE School Finance whose primary focus is support and research into special education data. This individual’s SAIS knowledge and quality assistance to PEAs, coupled with an understanding of state funding for special education, adds valuable expertise to the team.